How was your experience with Chandra Shenoy at Mayo Clinic?
Dr. Shenoy is very knowledgeable and could readily explain best practice. She attempted warmth with smiles. Besides smiling, she demonstrated a reserved, slightly cold personality. She tended to provide as little information as was necessary, while I repeatedly said that I need to understand the entire process and know the details. I often had to ask questions to seek clarification, gain new information, and better understand the reasons behind treatment decisions. I had a difficult experience with a saline sonogram where she and team attempted to check for uterine polyps. They had difficulty completing the procedure and viewing the uterus, and I left feeling unconfident and uncomfortable. Dr. Shenoy is a capable doctor and did respond to all of my questions in person or through the online portal. She completed all medical tasks needed; however, she did not go above and beyond to make me feel cared about.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Chandra Shenoy at Mayo Clinic?
Make sure you ask lots of questions and advocate for yourself. She is very knowledgeable and capable, but your personality might not mesh with hers.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Chandra Shenoy at Mayo Clinic?
There was very little personalization in care. At Mayo Clinic, the doctors rotate care so you may get a different doctor depending on the day. I was repeatedly told what they do for the IVF process in a very one size fits all manner. Under her care, nurses sent impersonal online portal messages. As I am diagnosed with unexplained infertility, I often had questions aimed at digging deeper into why my body was performing a certain way. These questions/concerns were not looked into further besides telling me what their protocol typically is.
Describe the protocols Chandra Shenoy used in your cycles at Mayo Clinic and their degree of success.
I was given the standard Mayo Clinic REI department protocol.
Due to my age below 35, I was told they only transfer 1 embryo at a time as a precaution to prevent the risk of twins.
I began with birth control pills which I had been on for months due to issues with cysts.
I was on Gonal F (225) Menopur (150) for 10 stim days. I had 2 monitoring ultrasounds because after the first one, my follicles took an extra day or two to mature, so a follow up was needed. No other blood work was done throughout the cycle. I took Cetrotide one day, and after was the trigger (hcg 10,000). Bloodwork was completed on day 4, 6, and 8. After the first and second blood tests my doses were increased due to slower response.
My retrieval was two days after the trigger in the morning.
18 eggs, 13 mature, 6 fertilized, and 1 was blastocyst embryo by the time of transfer.
I had a fresh embryo transfer five days later. 2 additional embryos became blastocyst and were frozen that day/evening.
My transfer failed.
A second embryo from that retrieval was transferred 3 months later using the FET protocol. The transfer was done with a different doctor at Mayo, but that embryo also did not implant and it failed.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at Mayo Clinic.
Nurses are limited to the level of communication they provide due to the online portal limitations. Some nurses were far better communicators than others. I noticed several errors in the online communications that were due to clerical typing issues. Additionally, I had one difficult experience that was due to a mix up behind the scenes. When I needed a follow up ultrasound due to fluid on my uterine lining during an FET and was told to call and schedule the ultrasound, I called the front desk to set it up, but they said no orders for an ultrasound had been placed. So, the appointment desk left a message with the nursing team regarding this matter. In response a few hours later, I received a short message from nurse staff stating that if I’d like to schedule an ultrasound, please contact appointment desk (which I had already done). Once that was sorted out, I was able to schedule an appointment. I attend that appointment in a later week, and the ultrasound tech began the process for a follicle assessment. I had to tell the employee that I was not being seen for a follicle count as I was in the middle of an FET cycle. I had to explain to her that this appointment was supposed to be a follow up to check for fluid on my lining. The tech apologized and said that the order was made for a follicle assessment. Since I caught the mistake, the correct pictures were taken, but I left that appointment feeling very upset that someone behind the scenes put in the wrong order.
Describe your experience with Mayo Clinic.
Very one size fits all treatment.
Rotation between different doctors.
Some doctors had amazing bedside manner.
All of the doctors are very knowledgeable.
Everything is done online via the portal.
Pregnancy results are sent via the portal and no personal phone call is made until the next day.
Describe your experience with your monitoring appointments at Mayo Clinic.
Ultrasound monitoring was run like a well oiled machine, but you had to call and schedule your own appointment within the time frame allowed.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Chandra Shenoy at Mayo Clinic.
Retrieval with fresh transfer was $15,000.
Frozen Embryo Transfer was approximately $5,500.
Describe Chandra Shenoy's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Mayo Clinic.
Doctors at Mayo strongly recommend one embryo at a time.
What specific things went wrong at Mayo Clinic?
- Scheduled the wrong procedure